The Vegas 16 Tournament features it’s opening round matchup as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs get set to take on the the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in the 2nd game of the night session.

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

The Bulldogs were a very impressive team this year. They ran up 23 wins and had just 8 losses entering the conference tourney, but ran into a solid defensive team in Old Dominion in the CAA tourney.

A team that averaged nearly 80 points per game, couldn’t figure out the Monarchs defense, as their cold shooting led them to just 52 points in a 68-52 loss.

The offensive flop in the CAA tourney came as a giant surprise, as this team shot 46% from the field on the year as they were always able to create space and hit their jumpers.

The Bulldogs are led by Alex Hamilton, who can not only get to the rim, but also creates a lot of open shots for his teammates. On the season, Hamilton has averaged 19.8 points per game to go along with 6.2 assists per game. Hamilton put up 33 and 38 point performances in the final 2 games of the regular season, but was held to just 12 against Old Dominion.

This Louisiana Tech team will only go as far as he takes them.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers

ETSU was one game away from an NCAA tourney big.

The Bucs made it to the Southern Conference championship, but ultimately fell to Chattanooga. The Mocs ended up being a 12 seed in the tourney, which was likely a probable seed this 23 win team would have been.

However, with the loss, they settle for the Vegas 8 tourney and it will give the nation one more chance to see an impressive team. This year the Bucs have wins over Wisconsin Green Bay (Horizon League Champ) and Georgia Tech (NIT Participant).

ETSU has leaned heavily on their depth, as they get contributions from multiple players. Points wise, it’s Ge’Lawn Guyn, who averages 18.2 points per game. Isaac Banks leads the team in rebounds, as he grabs 6.2 per game. Look for these two to be major keys in this one as Banks must control the defensive boards, not letting a hot shooting team like Louisiana Tech get more than one opportunity.

CBB Betting Trends:

The Bulldogs offense did flop against Old Dominion, but this still a very talented shooting team.

Look for them to certainly have a better performance than the 52 point showing in this one. However, the key will be slowing Banks down and controlling the paint.

The winner of this game will be the one who dominates the inside and controls it on the defensive end.

4* Free CBB Betting Pick: Louisiana Tech -2

The Bulldogs shooting and inside presence is too much for the Bucs to compete with here.

NCAAB Free Score Prediction: LT 78- ETSU 67

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About Tony M.

In 2014 Tony was new to Cappers Picks. He was not new to betting on sports however. He's been gambling since the first day he turned 18. He is now a 23 year old Cleveland native who lives and breathes Indians baseball. His dream is to be part of a championship celebration at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.